Wrecker



May 5, 1953 E. w. HOLMES ETAL WRECKER 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 28. 1944 d e a wm W mum. k. RM @f 3V! May 5, 1953 E. w. HOLMES ETAL 2,637,448

WRECKER Original Filed Dec. 28, 1944 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 5, 1953 E. w. HOLMES ET AL.

WRECKER 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Deo. 28, 1944 dceased.

NNY

May 5 1953 E. w. HOLMES Erm. 2,637,448

WRECKER original Filed Dec. 28, 1944l 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 zza z/Z @Howe/55 May 5, 1953 E. w. HOLMES ET AL WRECKER 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Dec. 28, 1944 gmc/www5 aum/ms May 5, 1953 E. w. HOLMES ETAL 2,637,448

WRECKER Original Filed Deo. 28, 1944 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented May 5, 1953 Ul'l'ED S @ENCE WRECKER @riginal application December 28, 19M, Serial No. .5T/(hlm, now battent No. 2,479,009, dated August i6, 1949. Divided and this application June 14,

1949, Serial No. 99,695

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in wreckers and similar hoisting apparatus, and more especially to apparatus o the mobile type adapted to be mounted on a truck or other suitable vehicle, and comprising means for handling disabled motor vehicles, and for performing hoisting, pulling, towing and similar operations, this application being a division of prior application Ser. No. 573,184, i-lled December 2B, 1944, now Patent No, 2,479,009, granted August i6, 1349.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide a novel and improved wreclrer or hoisting apparatus which. is capable oi performing various operations saiely and with speed and facility.

Another object is to provide a guide for yieldingly directing the service cable so that it will be supported above the sheaves and cables which support and raise and lower the boom and thereby avoid fouling ci the service cable with said sheaves and boom cable as the boom and cables swing laterally into difierent angular positions, the service cable guide being capable of yielding upwardly and downwardly to conform with raising and lowering movements or" the boom.

Another object is to provide a service cable sheave which is swivelled to swing on a vertical axis so located relatively to the vertical axis of swing of the boom as to maintain a load suspended from the service cable at the end of the boom at the same height at the oi its swing from a position at a side oi the wrecker to a position at the rear thereof, and viceversa.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements or parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out more particularly in the claims at the end oi this specification.

n the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation oi a wre er embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation ci the Wrecker, showing the booms swung laterally from the respective sides thereof.

Figure 3 is a top plan, partly in section, showing the sheaves for the boom cable and the service cable sheave and guide, and the driving means for the Winding means for the boom raising and lowering cable and the service cable for the boom at one side of the wreclrer.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a detail side elevation of the main and overdrive for one of the service cable winding drums.

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6--6 in Fig. 5.

Figure '7 is a detail section taken on the line l--ll in Fig. 6.

Figure 8 is detail view, in section, of the detent for holding the main and overdrive for the cable winding drum in neutral.

Figure 9 is an elevation, partly in section,of the wivel bracket for one of the service cable sheaves.

Figure l@ is a rear View of one of the service cable sheaves swivelled on the rear of the wrecker, the sheave being shown in its normal position, as when not in use.

Figure l1 is a view of the sheave shown in Fig. l@ but rotated into a position to permit insertion or removal or the service cable.

Figure 12 is a side elevation partly in longitudinal section, of one of the rear service cable sheaves.

Figure 13 is a section on the line lli-I3 in Fig. 12.

Figure 14 is a ldetail sectional view taken vertically through the service cable sheave bracket and adjacent portions of the structure.

The invention as shown in the accompanying drawings is adapted to be mounted on the chassis of an automotive truck: oi suitable size and provided vvith an engine for propelling it, and having a power take-off, which may be or any suitable or well known type, for supplying the power to operate the various parts of the wrecker. Since the construction oi the truck and its power take-off are well known, it is deemed suiiicient to show only the longitudinal frame members l of the truck chassis on which the Wrecker is mounted and suitably secured.

The wrecker comprises a frame, generally designated 2 composed of pairs of uprights 3 at the respective sides of the frame, the upper ends of these uprights being rigidly connected by a cross member [l comprising top and bottom plates li and li, the lower ends of the uprights being secured to a supporting structure comprising a channel iron l and an l-beam il rigidly secured together by top and bottom plates El and lil, forming a base for the frame which extends outwardly from the respective sides of the truck chassis.

The wrecker as shown is of the double boom type in which the booms are pivotally mounted at the respective sides of the frame to swing about vertical axes, these booms being equipped with power means for swinging them laterally to different desired angles, means for raising and lowering the outer end of each boom, and a service cable having means for winding and unwinding it to raise and lower the loads and to perform pulling and other operations, as will be hereinafter described. Since both booms and their associated parts are of the same construction, with the exception that they are mounted respectively on the right-hand and left-hand sides of the Wrecker, detail illustration and description of one of these booms and its associated parts will sufce for both, the parts on the left-hand side being shown, and corresponding parts on the right-hand side where they appear being designated by the same reference numerals but with the distinguishing suffix A.

Each boom is supported at its inner end on a cap i6 to which it is pivotally connected for raising and lowering movements by a horizontal pivot pin Il, this cap being xed to the lower portion of a tubular mast I8 the lower end of which is rotatable on a vertical axis in a bearing on the base of the frame, and the upper end of which is rotatable in a bearing supported by an extension of the plate 5 at the top of the frame. A sheave bracket 2l is xed to the upper end of the mast to rotate therewith, this bracket carrying sheaves 22 and 23 for the boom supporting cable 24, portions of this cable passing back and forth between the sheaves 23 and sheaves 25 rotatable in a yoke 26 connected to the outer end of the boom by an equalizing sling 21 and sheaves 2S carried by the yoke 26, as shown and described fully in Patent No. 2,405,578, granted August 13, 1946. One end of the boom' supporting cable 24 is attached by links 29 to the yoke 26 and the other end of this cable passes around the sheave 22 and then down through the tubular mast to a drum for raising and low- L ering the boom, as will be hereinafter described. The outer end of the boom carries a sheave 30 around which the service or hoisting cable 3| passes, this cable passing through a guide 32 and usually extending downwardly from the outer end of the boom for hoisting and other operations.

The lower end of the mast carries a gear wheel 35 which is xed thereto and enclosed in a casing 36, this gear wheel being driven by a pinion 4Q power driven by worm gearing housed in a gear casing 42, the worm gearing being driven by a sprocket wheel 5l fixed on the worm shaft thereof and this sprocket being driven by a chain 234 from a sprocket wheel 233 -connected to suitable gearing in a transmission 2IU the construction and operation of which are described fullyin the prior application hereinbefore referred to, the gear wheel 35 serving to swing the boom laterally into different desired angular positions. The transmission 2|!) is driven by its main shaft ZIE through a sprocket wheel 2l3 fixed thereto and engaged by a chain 2 I4, the latter engaging a sprocket wheel 215 on a shaft 2It which is connected to the power take-off. A bracket 3l' having a guide sheave 38 mounted therein is provided at the lower end of the mast and is held from rotation when the mast is swung about its vertical axis by a bracket 3'lc which is fixed to the frame of the wrecker. The boom cable 24 below the lower end of the mast passes around the sheave 38 and extends to the drum 39 onto and from which it is adapted to be wound and unwound by worm gearing 3|0 driven from the transmission 2H) by a sprocket wheel 318 Yconnected by a chain to a sprocket wheel 2M of the transmission, as fully described in the prior application hereinbefore referred to. Each boom is composed of telescopic sections E0 and 6| for lengthening and shortening the boom, the sece tion 60 carrying the pivot pin Il' and the inner section 6| carrying the service cable sheave 3U. A cable attached to the inner section and provided with an eye B8 for pulling it serves to extend the inner section, and a pin 69 is provided for insertion in holes in the two sections for locking them in different extended relations. Pulling of the cable attached to the inner section of the boom to extend the boom and return of the boom to its normal length are preferably effected by unreeving the service cable 3| from its sheave 30 and guide 32 and attaching its hook to the eye 68, and then operating the service cable by its winding and unwinding means hereinafter described. By this arrangement, extension of the boom section 6I to lengthen the boom serves to automatically swing the boom upwardly, since the boom cable 2f; acts as a radial tie of xed length between the upper end of the boom' section El and the top of the mast, and as the length of the boom is increased, the upper end of the boom is compelled to rise.

Each service cable 3| extends dov/n around a sheave 39 past an idler sheave 9| to a service drum 32. The sheave 9G is swivelled on the top of the cross member 4l of the frame, by a bracket 55 having a downwardly extending cylindrical portion |35 rotatable in a bearing |06 in the top cross member 4 of the frame, the portion |05 being hollow for the passage of the service cable. This sheave is provided with a cable guide 9T which is movable vertically and supports the service cable so that it will not foul the adjacent boom cable sheaves 22 and 23 as the service cable swings above said sheaves incident to the swing of the respective boom to and from a lateral position relatively to the wrecker but is yieldable downwardly under the tension of the service cable when the latter is attached to the eye 68 and employed for lengthening or shortening the boom. This cable guide 97 comprises a yoke having a pair of arms which straddle the ilanges 34 of the bracket and are mounted rotatably on the shaft 93 of the sheave 90, the outer end of the yoke having lugs thereon which are located at opposite sides of the cable 3l and overlie it to thereby retain the cable in engagement with the guide, but having a diagonal opening between them through which the cable may be passed to engage and disengage it with respect to the guide. This guide and the portion of the service cable resting thereon are yieldingly supported in elevated position by a coil spring 99 one end of which is connected to one of the guide arms 91 and the other end of which is xed to the shaft 83 by a screw 102.

The cable guide 3l serves to guide the service cable as it passes onto the sheave S0 and causes it to swing this sheave to different angles according to the angular positions into which the respective boom may swing about its vertical axis. The vertical axis of the sheave bracket 95 is preferably located opposite to the apex of the angle through which the respective boom swings laterally from one extreme position to the other, and in a vertical plane which substantially bisects said angle, in order that a load suspended by the service cable from the outer end of the boom will be at the same height at the end of the Swing as it was at the commencement of aeemesa 52 thezsvving,- as the:` boom swingsyfrom' arv position at'the side toa positionatthe'rear ofthe lWrecker, or vice Versa.

Each service. cable is adapted toi be wound upon andunwounci from the. drum t2 to perorm the hoisting, vpolling and other operations;v thisdrurn beine; mounted rotatably on asleeve or hollow shait it@ Whichlspansfthe-space betweenfandis seoured'to a pair of plates-|2| iixed toithe` nprights i Voi' the.` frameY and to thetrucl; ohassis,casing sections'. 22 and |23 beingprovided:` above: and below' the. drum. The shaft |26 furthe-boom cabledrurn Sai-extendsrotatably through `the sleeve. i liti.` and isfixeci' to. the drum 355i by; af plate |25- Which; is: fixed,` thereto, the shaft |26 being driven byfvthe..respective'worm gearingthroneh:azcouplingil 23;I

Each? servicey cabler drum 92 iedriven through ai gear S35i' which. is; formed: integrally. with or attaehed toom-raf its ilanges, and by a main driving,rv pinion: li which: meshes constantly therewith. f The. pinionv i izis'rno'unted rotatablyv Unia sliai i33-ionrnaledin'bearings lili' and t5 inzthefrespeotive pairfof platesf |24, this: shaft heingipfovided with splines .fi Sten Whieha clutch collar lili is slidable, this clutch collar being thereby driven romsaid shaft andhaving clutch jaws |38 thereon which:arewengaeeable with or disengageable frein complemental jaws` on the 4adjacent sideoi ith'epinion" i 3| .\vhere`by the latter may' befcoupled to and uneoupled from the shaft-.133: Theishait .iiisprovidedat one 'end Witha'coupling itil-for connectingV it Vto its pov/er operating means' in-theftransmission 2i il, as fully shown anddescrib'ed in the prior application hereinbeiore referred to. A relatively large gear Wheel' itt' is; xed totheother. end of the shaft |33, andzthis gear WheelI ineshesvfith arelatively small pinion: lil l mounted on arshaft |42 4whereby the-flatter maybe drivenV from the shaft |33.y A friction drive: comprising a friction drum |43.-

is preferably interposed between the pinion; lili and itsxs'haft|t2.' The shaft hifi has a gear ISE! mounted rotatably thereon and .adapted 1 to;` be coupled thereto by a clutch Collar |51 which: is splinedzozr theish'aitifitand this clutch collar has clutch jaws thereon which are engagea'ble With-.- and'l disengageaoie' froinoomplemental clutch jawsY on" the adjacent face: of the gear E55). A gear |32 mounted on a shaft 251i is interposed between the gear itt and the drum. gear 53e so that the main` pinion itl and alsothe higher speed' pinion" i Stv/'ill' bothdrive th'edrum in the-saine direction forY a* given direction. of rotation of the maindrive shaft |33.

Eech'main pinion itilA and overdrivelgear |53 are selectively ren eredoperative to drivetlierespectiveservice drum under the manual control of a Clutch shiiter'slide it@ which is slidableLlon 'a' rail iii-i, this-slide being provided at one end With a shifter fork it'whieh engages the'cluteh collar i3? and at the other end with a shifter fork W3 which engages the clutch collar itl. Thee shiiter forks ae so arranged that When the lori; it@ shifts the collar il into engagement With the main pinion iii to drive the drum from the main pinion, the fori: E63 disengages the clutch colla-r lili from the gear iit, and when the forli shifts the collar itl into engagement with the gear itil, i'or overdrive of the drum, the forli i652 disengages the collar from the pinion itl. when the forks are brought into their midpositions, both clutch collars Will be in disengages positions, the drive for the service cable drum being then in neutral.

The? clutehzshifterslide 60: iss reciprocatedlby a crank disk lli? xed on azsh'aft. |1| mounted rotatably in an angle iron. i i2 andzprovidedwith an exterior handle lllby meanszofwhichxitimay be rotated; The erankdisklt-.carriesa'cranle pin i'il:Whiohengages,oneend'of a link |75 the oth rend or" whiehengages apin it iixedzto the slide' IGS. (Figs. 6,' landi) lllhenzthe.crank` disllis rotated intoth'e full line position'fshown ini-ig.' 7; the clutch'. collar il Willibe'engaged With. the main drivepinion. |32, and. when the cranliidisk isrotated thronghfa` half revolution tothe dotteciposition shown in Figi' 7, the'clutch collar: iii?? Willbe engaged' withthe gearill. A compressed coil spring Il? biasses the.. diskl Il@ toward and'yieldingly holds it in one or theotlier offy such. clutch' engaging positions', thisf spring encircling. a rodv li carried byV a' link H39 pivota-lly connected to the crank'dish by a pin |90; and thelrod iltbeing slidabl'y guided bya' lug l l i, overthrow of the'crenli.' disk under the action of. the spring being prevented by a lug 'liiiixed to the diei; and which ahuts against` the upper or Alower side of the link A' spring pressed plunger it is arranged tin-engage in a recess lili." in the link,` lt@ andthereby yieldingly hold the oliitohsliiiter slide in itsv neutral or rnid'- position.

Thedriving means 'thus'provided for each serviee cable drinn enables' the respective sei-Vine cable to be Wound' univound through the high speecior overdrive,whenever desired"I as when taking up slack or' lifting or pulling relatively light the service cable, and'to'be wound with greater power, While l" ne; or relatively heavy loads. When' the drive is placed in neutral; oet-li drives-will lo. ehed therefrom, and any f "ired length oitne serviee cable then be d manually from its drum. The main drive'ehait E33' for each service eaole drinn driven by; power throue'h a'coupling connes-ted to `Worm gear I fig the beingv driven from gearing in iria-in transmission fully shown and desorlbed in the prior liereinbeiore referred to.

The inver an end or ei Lith-e on enables to he pulled from ther slee or thewreeler by either service cables in. ependently ofthe booms; such means con rising a of swivell'edA sheaves mounted o the rear end of the truei: Chassis, one at each e oi tile center thereof. ilaeh of these sheaves is jonrnaled in braelr'et 326 havin; a cylindrical porti "i' ich swivelled in a.similarly-shaped'soo i, which' bolted'or otherwise securely i sed 'to the end of the truol chassis. The shea-ve bracket carries a vtable guide 354s which is pivoted on and the sh'eave bracket has a slot vliieh is'brought into register Wi i a slot n the soolet'vvlien the cable guide is swung inwardly into a substantially horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 1l, so

that the respective service cable 3l, after being unreeved from its boom and idlers and 9|, may

be extended directly rearwardly from its winding drum Sil and inserted through these registering slots, and passed around t.e slieave When the sheave bracket 326 is rotated out of such position by swinging the cable guide downwardly about the axis of 'the swivel, 'the slots are out of register and the cable will then be retained in the sheave bracket. The service cable may then be employed for pulling directly from the rear of the wreeker, or from either side thereof. Similar swivelled sheaves may obviously be provided at thefront of the truck chassis.

The cylindrical portion 32'! of the sheave bracket is preferably retained in the socket 328 by a lug 321:1 which may be cast on the end of the portion 321 which projects forwardly from the socket, this lug being somewhat narrower than the width of the slot 332 in the socket, so that by rotating the sheave bracket out of its normal working position into a position to bring the lug into alinement with the slot 332, the cylindrical portion 321 of the sheave bracket may be inserted axially into the socket, and when the sheave assumes its normal position the lug will be rotated out of alinement with the slot 332 and will be in a position to abut against the forward en d of the socket and thus prevent pulling of the sheave bracket out of the socket until the sheave bracket is again rotated to bring the lug into alinenient with said slot, which is not a normal working position of the sheave bracket.

In order to increase the stability of the wrecker, especially while heavy loads are being lifted or pulled at either side, a pair of legs 349 are provided, these legs each comprising an upper tubular section 341 having a hea-d iixed in its upper end and provided with lugs 342, and a bracket having cooperating lugs 343 is securely nxed to the under side of the respective end of the top cross member 4 of the frame, the lugs on the leg and on the attaching bracket being pivotally connected by a pin 344 which enables the leg to normally occupy a position close to the respective side of the wrecker, and to be swung outwardly therefrom to a desired position to engage the ground and thereby act as a strut or brace. The tubular upper section of the leg has a lower section 345 which telescopes therein when the leg is not in use, and which may be extended downwardly therefrom into engagement with the ground, this section having a foot 356 on its lower end to provide a rin support on the ground. The length ci the leg is adjusted according to the angle linto which it is swung outwardly and the distance to the ground, and is locked at such ,j

length by a pin 341 which is inserted through holes in the lower portion of the upper section, and through the appropriate one of a series of holes 348 spaced longitudinally in the lower section of the leg.

We claim:

1. l-loisting apparatus comprising a trarne, a mast mounted in the frame, a boom mounted on Athe mast, means including a sheave on the top of the mast and a cable cooperative therewith :for raising and lowering the boom, a service cable extending over the upper end of the frame to the outer end of the boom, an idler sheave for the service cable, mounted on the upper end of the frame, a sheave bracket carrying said idler sheave and having a guide pivoted to swing on a substantially horizontal axis and which is controlled by the service cable, said bracket being mounted to rotate on a vertical axis, and means for supporting said guide in an elevated position to swing over the sheave on the top of the mast, but yieldable to permit downward swing of said guide under the tension of the service cable.

2. Hoisting apparatus comprising a frame, a boom mounted on the frame to swing laterally into different angular positions, sheaves at the upper end of the frame and a cable cooperating therewith and connected to the outer end of the boom for supporting and raising and lowering the boom, a service cable extending from the upper end of the frame to the outer end of the boom, a sheave over which the service cable passes, a sheave bracket carrying said sheave and mounted on the upper end of the frame to rotate on a vertical axis adjacent to but oiset relatively to the axis of lateral swing of the boom, a service cable guide pivoted on said bracket to swing on a substantially horizontal axis and controlled by the service cable, and means for supporting said guide in an elevated position to support the service cable above the boom supporting sheaves and cable as the boom swings laterally but yieldable to permit downward swing of said guide under tension of the service cable.

3. A wrecker comprising a frame adapted to be mounted on the chassis of a truck, a boom mounted on the frame to swing on a vertical axis through an angle between a position at the rear of the Wrecker and a position at a side thereof, a sheave bracket mounted on the upper end of the frame to rotate on a vertical axis located adjacent to but offset from the axis of swing of the boom and opposite to the apex of said angle of swing of the boom and in a vertical plane which substantially bisects said angle, a sheave carried by said bracket, and a service cable reeved over said sheave and extending to the outer end of the boom.

S. BARTOW STRANG, Administrator of the estate of Ernest W. Holmes,

decewed.

ERNEST W. HOLMES, J R.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 939,937 Winans Nov. 9, 1909 1,254,804 Holmes Jan. 29, 1918 1,300,649 Raymond Apr. l5, 1919 1,325,548 'Wiley ec. 23, 1919 1,590,562 Blonigen June 29, 1926 1,721,546 Cummings et al July 23, 1929 1,917,053 Nelson et al July 4, 1933 2,178,280 Hutchins et al Oct. 31, 1939 2,321,549 Holmes June 8, 1943 2,343,894 Fisher Mar. 14, 1944 

